Even with increased deer kill, Ohio wildlife division looking to cull more
A lot of whitetails were taken by hunters during the deer season that ended earlier this month, yet the Ohio Division of Wildlife has served notice it remains on a mission.
“We need to kill more antlerless deer in many parts of the state,” said biologist Mike Tonkovich, deer specialist for the wildlife division.
Tonkovich said the need to get whitetail numbers close to county population targets is behind a proposal that would expand the use of discounted deer-management permits on private land to all 88 Ohio counties during the entire 2021-22 season.
During the past year the permits were legal in 24 counties, including Franklin, Licking and Knox in central Ohio, and only until the start of gun week.
Further, the discounted permits — valid only for antlerless deer — could be used up to the county bag limit, which would remain the same as during the 2020-21 season.
In central Ohio, then, three-deer counties would include Licking, Fairfield, Delaware, Union and Knox. Hunters could take four deer in Franklin County, two in Madison and one in Pickaway. Hunters could take as many as six deer during the season as long as they don’t surpass a county limit.
As in past years, a single antlered deer, requiring a regular permit, could be taken during the season. A regular permit also would be required to hunt public land in most cases.
The proposals were made during a recent Ohio Wildlife Council meeting. The council, an eight-member citizen panel, each year decides whether to accept or reject wildlife regulations for upcoming seasons — after there has been an opportunity for public comment.
A statewide hearing on the February proposals is scheduled virtually at 9 a.m. on March 18. The council typically votes on the hunting season proposals during its meeting in April.
Deer hunters reported taking 197,735 deer during the four-month season that ended Feb. 7. The total topped any year since the 2012-13 season, when 218,910 deer were checked, and it easily topped the three-year average take.
Wildlife officials, however, have no wish to let the deer numbers grow significantly beyond a target population for each county that has been determined optimal for whitetail health and human tolerance, Tonkovich said.
The expanded use of discounted deer permits isn’t necessarily a recipe for increasing the number of whitetails killed during the upcoming season, he said. It is, however, an attempt to get hunters to take more does, a basic requirement to check herd growth by hunting.
While many hunters chase bucks and understandably would deem it outlandish to pass up the chance at a trophy, the wide use of discount permits might sway hunters toward taking antlerless deer as freezer fare instead of, say, a smallish buck that falls short of a mounting profile.
Deer-management permits could not be used on public lands except during controlled hunts and at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Wyandot County and Lake La Su An Wildlife Area in Williams County.
Also scrapped in the proposals is the requirement added a few seasons ago that only antlered deer may be taken on public hunting grounds after gun season. The goal of increasing numbers largely within reach on many public hunting areas, the proposed regulation allows for a single antlerless deer to be taken on public land from day one of the proposed archery season, Sept. 25, through its close, Feb. 6, 2022.
Proposed seasons involving firearms include:
• Youth deer gun weekend: Nov. 20-21
• Deer gun week: Nov. 29-Dec. 5
• Statewide gun weekend: Dec. 18-19
• Deer muzzleloader: Jan. 8-11, 2022
outdoors@dispatch.com
